- Editors in Canton opine on Ohio's new teacher evaluation protocols…and the even newer tweaks made to them by the legislature. (Canton Repository)
- St. Paul Lutheran School in Union County has closed its doors after 122 years. It is not noted in this article that St. Paul took students on the EdChoice Scholarship for some years. Its closing leaves just two EdChoice-participating private schools in the county. Interestingly, both are Lutheran schools. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Yesterday’s PD piece on whether or not there will be a “safe harbor” for teachers from evaluations based on PARCC exams apparently grew out of this longer and more in-depth interview with ODE’s data-guru Matt Cohen. In it, he answers questions about how value-add will be calculated when tests switch from OAA (RIP) to PARCC (OMG), among other intricacies. I was happy every time I read the phrase “in simple terms”. I can only imagine the level of detail Mr. Cohen was able and willing to provide! (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- In case you think being in charge of a state-mandated commission overseeing school districts in fiscal trouble is a glamorous business, this story will probably change your mind. There appears to be no shortage of people scrutinizing the custodial budget and operations in Mansfield schools at the moment. Looking at privatization didn’t yield the savings hoped for and now discussion turns to making in-house services more efficient, although as the Supe says: he’s “not sure how a more efficient custodian services system would look”. (Mansfield News Journal)
- Speaking of oversight commissions, the academic oversight commission in Youngstown named its new chair this week. A veteran educator from nearby Euclid took the reins, replacing the original chair who had to step down for health reasons. (Youngstown Vindicator)
